Glossary Terms

physical address requirement

The physical address requirement is the rule in email law, in both CAN-SPAM in the US and CASL in Canada, that every commercial email must include a real postal mailing address for whoever sent it. A current street address works, and so does a PO Box or a registered commercial mailbox; what doesn't is a fake, forwarding, or random address that doesn't actually reach the sender. The point is accountability: a sender who can be located in the real world is far less likely to be an anonymous spammer. For solo operators who'd rather not publish a home address, a PO Box or virtual office address is the normal, compliant answer, and it belongs in the email footer next to the unsubscribe link.